Improved apparatus foe -clarifying saccharine juices



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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be itknown that I, L. P. HARRIS, oi Crestliue, in the county of Crawford, in the State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Appratu's for Clarifying Saccharine Juices; and I do hereby declare that the -following isa full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference markcdthcreon, in which- Figure 1 is .a pla'nfor top view of my invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal view oftan apparatus embodying my invention. i A

The nature of my invention consists in removing from cane-juice the various substances which, together with the juice, arcfremoved from the stalk in the process of crushing and pressing the same, by means of 'an apparatus so constructed and arranged as to allow these substances to settle to or near the bottom ofthe vessel containing the juice, Iwhile the pure top juice may be drawn from the vessel previous'to submitting it to the .action of heat.

. The necessity of my invention arises'in the fact that in our northern climate the sorghum 'or sugar-cane seldom reaches a high degree of maturity before it is more orvless injured by frost. We are, therefore, in order to save our crop, `often compelled to gather and work it up in an immatured state. Thpressure necessary to remove thejuice in this tender and immatured condition of the stalk also removes a portion of the chlorophyl, albumen, starch, and such other substances as compose the body of the stalk. Thesesubstances should be vthoroughly separated from the juice before snbmittingvit to the action of heat,as extracting their strength by the action of 'heat while in the juice not only imparts a very unpleasant flavor to the sirup, but prevents its granulation. A portion of these substances-has suicient specific gravity to cause them to settle to the bottom of the" vessel containing the juice. Others, having less speciiic gravity, settle below the top surface of the juice, and, like a fine, floating cloud, remain suspended in the body of juice, leaving the pure juice at the top.

.A thorough separation of these substances from the juico is what I have long been laboriiig to accomplish.

I have succeeded satisfactorily, only, by placing the juice .in a vessel of suicient capacity for convenience in operation,'and allowing it to remain a suiiioentv length of time for these substances to precipitate, or, at least,

to fall below the top surface, so as to admit of drawing off the pure top juice. By thistp'rocess of separating these substances, even thc'iine,.iloating cloud, which is so diiicult to remove vfrom the juice before heating it, 1

am enabled to Ina-ke a pure, pleasant-flavored sirup, which readily granulates, producing a fair quality of sugar, which results are very diilicult to obtain by the ordinary method of clarifying the juice by heating and skimming. To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the sume with reference to the drawings. I

Fig. lis a plan or topvicw of a clarifying-vessel, which may be made cf wood or any suitablematerial, vin which-ais a partition, dividing the saule into two apartments, cach of which should be large enough to contain from lift-y to one hundred gallons ofjuicc. o I1 are metallic tubes, resembling siphons, more clearly seen at`3 4, .g. 2. c e are also metallic tubes, connecting,.through the sides of the vessel, the tubes 6 Iz with the pipe d. e

is aniadjustable pipe, entering the block f by means of a screw cut on the end-of the same, and is connected with the pipe d, the Vtubes c c and b gg'aro adjustable oats, which. may be constructed of wood or any suitable material, of proper size, and light enough.to iloat on the surface of the juice and support the points of the siphons, as seen at 10, iig. 2. Through these floats, at or near thecentre, is a hole of suiiicient size to admit freely the points of the siphons, each of which. is provided with a nut, having a projection from opposite sides of sueient length to extend across the holol inthe iloat, to .which these points ureso-attached as to allow the doet to adapt itself to the surface of the juice.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal view ofa clarifying-vessel, which is divided into two apartments, as above described. :5 5 is a thread or screw cut on the end of the tubes 3 4 to receive the nut I5, by means of which thc floats 6 6 may be regulated at any desirable distance from the points of the tubes 8 4.

Inoperating my .invention,' the juice may flow from theeanemill so as to ll these apartments alternately; that is, so as to lill one while the juice vin the other is being settled and drawn oil', as follows t First, fill the apartment 7, iig. yas shown by the red line 8. Then turn the flowing juice from the mill into the apartment 9,' allowing the juice in theapnrtment 'T to remain .undisturbed until the substances in the juice precipitate, so

as to leave a thin stratum of pure juice at the top. The oat '10 then being so adjusted, by means oi' the screw.

and nut, (see 5 5,) as to allow the point of tbesipbon 11 to dip slightly into'the juice, the' operation may-com mence by corking the end of the sipllon 3 at 5. Then pour in juice or water at 12 (which point should risc above 5) until the air is expelled from the tubes. The adjustable pipe 12-then 4being turned down properly, the juicebegins and continues to flow, in the direction of the arrows, o n to the evaporator. The sipbon 11, being supported by the float 10, is allowed to settle, only, with the top of the body of juice. As the substances contained in the juice precipitate in advance of the point of the siphon 11, we are enabled to draw constantly from the top of the juice, leaving the sediment in the vessel to be removed previous to refilling. The apartment 9 being now filled with juice from the mill, the flowing stream may be turned into the apartment 7. The Siphon 11 may now be turned up and corked, as at 5, Siphon 3, while siphon 3 may be turned down, and operated as above described.

This clarifier may be so arranged as to operate in combination with any desirable form of e'vaporators.

What I claim as my invention, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The adjustable oat, and its combination with the siphon.

2. The combination of the adjustable oat and siphon with the tube c and pipes d and e, substantially as described.

3. A cane-juice clarifier, constructed and operated substantially as described.y

4. The combination of a cane-juice clarifier, when constructed and operated substantially as described, with heatinv and eva oratin ans for the ur oses set forth.

f P g P P P L. P. HARRIS.

Witnesses:

HENRY THoMAN, P. W. Poom. 

